The Air We Breathe
by NatureGirl202
Summary: There's something dark, lurking in the shadows. The Young Justice team are completely unaware that, sooner or later, they're going to have to face their greatest enemy yet. But who is it? The Light... or something else? Contains OC, but not OC-centric.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok, so, this is my first fanfic ever with actual canon characters. I'm extremely nervous and paranoid about whether or not I got their personalities down. ^^" Oh and this story will have a couple OCs in it, only one of which is a member of the team so she will be the only one with a main role. It's Torry AKA Tornade. She's sixteen and has the ability to control the wind. You'll find out the rest of the details about her throughout the fic. Anyway, I'm gonna try not to make this story revolve completely around my OC. I want her to blend in the way she does in my head. :P But, her character does need to be developed, so we'll see. Anywho, just read and give it a try please. ^.^ Read the A/N at the bottom when you're done for a bit more info on the story.**

_How goes the east perimeter?_

_All good, nothing but turbance over here._

… _What?_

_Turbance, it's the opposite of 'disturbance.'_

_Dude, what is it with you and the word play?_

_Yeah, and how does your English teacher feel about that?_

_Focus you three._ The mental voice of their leader, Aqualad, snapped the three young heroes out of their mental conversation.

_Sorry_, Tornade, one of the three, apologized sheepishly, although an amused grin stayed on her face.

_Miss Martian, do you see anything from the sky?_ Aqualad questioned, his eyes never leaving the area he assigned himself.

_Nope, everything's all good up here._

They all heard a mental sigh come from Kid Flash. _I'm beginning to think that the League just sent us on a wild goose chase. We've been here for how long now?_

Robin briefly opened the holographic computer from his glove. _An hour and twenty-three minutes_. There were collective groans from a few of the other team members.

_I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting tired of staring at some random, abandoned warehouse in the middle of some stupid forest_, Kid Flash grumbled.

_Hey, Kid Mouth, instead of complaining, why don't you make this more tolerable for the rest of us and shut up?_ Artemis shot back.

Superboy, who had been ignoring the pointless conversation, whipped his head around when he heard what sounded like a snapping twig. Cliché, much?

_I heard something_, he announced, interrupting something Kid Flash had been thinking. Like a switch had been flipped, all of the heroes tensed, ready for action.

_What and where? _Robin questioned as he scanned the dark forest from his perch on the branch of one of the trees.

_Sounded like a twig, about ten yards north from me._

_Could've been an animal_, suggested Tornade, although she was on high alert. She brushed some of her long, black hair behind her ear and peeked down from her perch on the top of the warehouse. A faint breeze rustled the leaves of the trees and various plants, but that was the only movement she saw.

_Can you see anything?_ Aqualad questioned Superboy. Superboy squinted slightly, his vision switching to infrared as he gazed in the area the sound had come from.

_No._

Aqualad took only a moment to ponder their next step. _Then we wait, but remain on alert_.

The team nodded, although they were aware of the fact that almost none of their other teammates could see them. Silence soon followed.

_Is it just me, or is this forest too quiet?_ Kid Flash thought, only half-serious.

_Maybe it would be, if you would just. Shut. Up._ Of course, Artemis was the one with the comeback. Kid Flash glared in the direction he knew she was in.

_You know what-_

_Cut it out you guys, you're giving me a headache_, Robin snapped, rubbing his temple.

_Maybe we should contact the League_, Miss Martian thought. Tornade shifted in her spot, grumbling silently to her herself.

_It does seem like a dead end. Maybe the tip Batman got was false?_ She suggested, briefly wondering what time it was. She figured that whatever the time was, she should've already been in bed.

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his mask. _Batman doesn't get false tips._

Tornade raised an eyebrow. _Wasn't it just last week that you were given a tip that Penguin was hiding out somewhere and the two of you ended up walking right into an ambush?_

_Yeah, but the tip was right. Penguin _was_ hiding out there._

Tornade rolled her eyes, but didn't comment on the "Robin-logic." Besides, she was soon distracted by Superboy's next announcement.

_Helicopter's coming._

Tornade cussed slightly to herself and crammed herself into a shadow that was hopefully dark enough to hide her from whoever was in the helicopter. Soon enough, the sounds of the blades ripping through the air was heard. Not a moment later, a large, black helicopter appeared. The helicopter paused above the warehouse. It was, however, unusually high in the air for a helicopter that planned on landing.

_M'gann, see who the pilot is_, Aqualad ordered. The young Martian flew up, still in camouflage mode, and looked into the front window to identify the pilot and send an image to her teammates. When she reached it, her brows furrowed at the sight before her.

_Th-there's no one in there_, she said, confused as she was also unable to sense any minds within the helicopter. The team frowned.

_Then wha-?_ Superboy started to think, but cut himself off as a part of the bottom of the helicopter slid open. Not a moment later, an object fell from it. Robin's eyes widened beneath his mask.

_It's a bomb!_ He leaped down from the branch and ran, unsure of how large and powerful the bomb was.

_Retreat!_ Aqualad, somewhat pointlessly, ordered.

_Uh oh_, Tornade thought. She stood up and leapt off the side of the warehouse without hesitation. She used the wind to soften her fall so she wouldn't hurt Kid Flash, who was zooming by, when she landed on his back. He did elicit a small grunt, but he didn't slow down. Tornade wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as they sped away. Not a moment later, there was a large _bang_ as the warehouse was exploded.

_Everyone alright?_ M'gann's question filled their minds. Affirmative answers from each member of the team followed.

_Rendezvous at the Bio-Ship,_ came Aqualad's calm command. Everyone was already heading there, so the location wasn't an inconvenience.

Tornade and Kid Flash were the first to reach the camouflaged ship. When they came to a stop, Tornade let herself off his back, letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Kid Flash let out a pant, causing her to look at him.

"You're heavier than you look" he said, before abruptly bringing out his back-up chocolate bar. Tornade was about to show him exactly how "heavy" her fist was, when Superboy showed up in his usual mini-earthquake causing way, landing right beside Tornade and Kid Flash. The two teens who didn't have super strength stumbled slightly.

"Dude, seriously? The Hulk has better landings than you" Kid Flash grumbled. Superboy chose not to comment, not exactly appreciating how that comment brought him back to that time on the Metropolis Bridge.

"Conner!" all three looked up as the green alien came out of camouflage mode and floated down to land beside Conner. "You're alright!"

Conner gave his girlfriend a small smile. "Of course, not like it was a kryptonite bomb."

"Well, that was interesting" Robin commented as he emerged from the brush, Aqualad by his side. Despite having just escaped an explosion, the Boy Wonder was smiling. Kid Flash looked at his teammates, frowning as he finished his chocolate bar.

"Where's Artemis?" he questioned.

"Here" came Artemis' voice not a moment later. They all turned to see her walk out from the trees, rubbing her head.

"What happened to you?" Tornade questioned curiously as she walked up to the blonde archer and pulled a leaf out of her blonde hair.

"Nothing" Artemis lied, not willing to admit that she had stumbled down a hill in her hurry to escape the explosion. Wally would never let her live it down. They all gave her questioning looks, before just shrugging it off.

"It appears that they knew we were here" Aqualad commented, bringing everyone back to the main issue at hand. They nodded.

"Yeah, but who are 'they'?" Artemis questioned, wiping some dirt off her pants. Robin put his hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"All Batman's tip said was that there was some serious business going down here. Some meeting of some sort" he said, brows furrowed.

"A trap, perhaps?" Kaldur questioned, although he didn't quite believe that himself. Robin shook his head.

"No, I doubt Batman would've sent us in if there was a possibility of that."

"Maybe they were trying to destroy evidence of something?" M'gann cut in to the conversation between the two natural born leaders.

"We searched every inch of that warehouse when we first arrived, though, and we didn't find anything, but dust, bugs, and more dust" Torry pointed out. M'gann frowned.

"Perhaps the tipper betrayed us and revealed that he had tipped us off?" Kaldur suggested. Robin nodded.

"It's a possibility."

There was a brief moment of silence. Kaldur's eyes met Robin's. "That leaves one more, rather confusing and unclear, question…"

Robin seemed to latch onto Kaldur's train of thought as he finished for him. "Why did they wait so long to blow us up?"

* * *

><p><em>Batman. 02.<em>

The team looked up from where they had been discussing amongst themselves when the electronic voice of the zeta beam announced the arrival of the Dark Knight.

They had recently arrived back at Mt. Justice and hadn't been waiting for long.

Batman walked up to them and didn't even bother with pretense.

"What happened?" he asked in his deep voice. Of course, he already knew about the explosion. He had heard about it in the news. A late night explosion in the no man's land of Montana wasn't something the media liked to ignore. He would never admit it, but a part of him was glad to see that the team was alright with no apparent injuries.

The team launched into the story- well, Kaldur did most of the explaining, as he was the leader. Wally was easily ignored when he complained about how long they had sat there just to get a bomb dropped on them. By the end of the explanation, the Dark Knight's eyes were slightly narrowed, the only indication of how he was feeling.

"As of this moment," Aqualad finished, "our best guess is that whoever gave you the tip turned around and admitted his betrayal."

"Not possible" the Dark Knight said quickly, sounding rather sure of that fact. There was a brief pause as they waited for him to elaborate. He didn't.

"Why?" Robin was the only one currently brave enough to question the rather intimidating hero. Batman's gaze fell on him.

"Because the man who gave me the tip killed himself shortly after giving me the information. I wasn't able to stop him."

There were some gasps and whispers of disbelief.

"And you didn't tell us this… why?" Conner questioned, obviously irritated at the lack of information.

Batman turned his attention back to the whole team. When he replied, the tone of his voice left no room for argument. "Because it wasn't relevant to the mission."

"Then how did they know we would be there?" Kaldur questioned thoughtfully.

"Dudes," Wally said hesitantly after a moment, "you don't think… you don't think it was the mole, do you?"

There was a brief, tense moment of silence.

"I highly doubt that there really is a mole within the team" Kaldur finally spoke up. The rest of the team mumbled awkward agreements. Batman's keen eyes watched the team, not missing anything. He himself wasn't quite so sure that there _wasn't_ a mole on the team. But, as of that moment, the evidence was pointing toward a mole who wasn't even aware of their betrayal.

"I'll look into it," he said eventually, "for now, the rest of you get changed and head home."

He glanced at Superboy, as if daring him to make some snarky remark. But, apparently, the clone wasn't in the mood as he just stalked off. The rest of the team followed suit, except for Robin, who just opted to leave with Batman.

* * *

><p>"The heroes still remain unaware of our plans for them and their sidekicks."<p>

"Yes, and it shall remain that way until we are ready to reveal our grand scheme."

**A/N: Just so you know, this is the order of the thoughts in the beginning of the chapter:**

**Kaldur**

**Robin**

**Torry**

**Robin**

**KF**

**Torry**

**And then Kaldur, as you know.**

**I know it was kind of slow and this turned out shorter than I would've liked. I just need to get more comfortable with the story and doing canons. Trust me, the narration and flow will get much better once this story hits its groove. ;) As of this moment, I don't have the clearest plot in my head for this story. I'm not quite sure whether or not to make the enemy the Light, mostly because I have no idea who half of the villains who appeared are. Unfortunately, I don't read comics (lack of a decent budget and years of naivety to the awesomeness that is the comic book industry will do that to you). :/ If someone could tell me who those people are so I can research them, that would be great. ^^**

**So, another thing which some of you are probably wondering, is the couples. As of this moment, the only coupling I'm gonna have is SuperMartian and Spitfire. Right now, I'm not planning on coupling my OC with anyone.**

**If you're wondering anything or have any suggestions, feel free to review or message me. I'm not the biggest fan of flames. If you think my story sucks, then I'm sure you can find a nice and polite way of saying it. It never hurts to add a smiley face. :)**

**Review plz! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I forgot a disclaimer on the first chapter... oopsies :P... -clears throat- I don't own Young Justice or any of the characters. Just one of those facts of life. ;)**

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to write this up. School's been giving me hell lately. :/**

Chapter 2

The sound of Robin's characteristic laugh filled the room. Torry sat up and groaned quietly as she rubbed her back. Her blue eyes glared at the Boy Wonder.

"Bite me" she grumbled. The smug grin didn't leave the younger boy's face, however, as he bent down and offered her his hand.

"Go again? Or can your butt not handle anymore whoopin'?"

Torry had the urge to wipe that smirk off his pretty little face. An idea suddenly came to her mind and she grinned. Without a second thought, she grabbed his hand and pulled it roughly down. She then launched herself into the air, performing a flip. Her feet landed on the boy's back and she pushed off him. Robin tumbled, but didn't miss a beat as he was back on his feet in the blink of an eye. The two faced each other, eyes narrowed, waiting for the other to attack.

_Batman. 02. Greenwoman. 04._

"Go for her left, Rob. She needs to practice with defense on that side."

Torry turned to give her mentor, Greenwoman, an exasperated look as the training floor deactivated. Robin smirked as he relaxed his position.

"You got a mission for us?" he questioned as he went to stand beside his own mentor. Batman just grunted as he brought up the holographic computer, typing away on it. Torry turned to Greenwoman. She was in her mid-twenties and had blue eyes that were a shade slightly darker than Torry's. Her hair was a natural blonde and her physique was that of any other female hero.

Together, the two often got teased about looking like a Christmas special. Every piece to Laura's costume was the same shade of green. The main body of her suit was dress-like, with slits on the side to allow freedom of movement. She also wore green boots and long green gloves. Her mask was a simple one that just covered the area around her eyes. It didn't seem like much, but apparently it was enough to keep people from realizing she was Laura Rivers, the rags-to-riches wife of billionaire and CEO Lance Rivers.

Torry's costume, on the other hand, was a dark red. Her costume was full body, but slightly off the shoulder. The long sleeves had slits in them that Torry readily admitted were just for the look. She wore gloves and shoes that matched the costume. Her mask was the same design as Laura's.

"Why are you here?" Torry questioned curiously. Greenwoman shrugged, turning her calm gaze from Batman to her apprentice.

"I was in Gotham and thought I'd stop by with Batman and let you know that I need you to babysit on Tuesday."

Torry grimaced. She loved Greenwoman's kid, she really did, but the kid knew how to cry.

"Oh, you got a mission?"

Tornade jumped slightly when Kid Flash suddenly zoomed by and stopped beside Robin and Batman. Batman ignored the young speedster and brought up on the screen what appeared to be the blueprints to some machine. Tornade's eyes immediately recognized the logo in the bottom corner.

They all turned around as the voices of the other team members filled the room. They fell silent at the sight of Batman and what was most likely a new mission assignment.

"A mission?" Kaldur questioned. Batman's reply was a curt nod. Once the entire team was gathered, he began the debrief.

"A couple of hours ago, a prototype was stolen from the Gotham branch of Rivers Industry." Kid Flash stole a glance at Greenwoman and Tornade; he and Robin were the only ones that knew their secret IDs and, likewise, Tornade knew theirs. Tornade had told the team her first name and had walked around the cave in civvies before- without sunglasses, mind you –but her face wasn't one that was recognized by the public. Lance and Laura had made sure to keep their live-in babysitter out of the public eye. "You are to go to the warehouse where it was kept and look for evidence, then track it to where it currently is. When you confirm its location, contact the League immediately. Do. Not. Engage."

"What's it do?" Superboy questioned, raising an eyebrow. Batman and Greenwoman exchanged a glance.

"It's highly experimental, so there's no confirmation if it even works yet," Greenwoman supplied, before giving a slight sigh, "it's supposed to target brain waves and reverse them. Turn around any thought someone has."

A few mouths dropped.

"Why would they build something like that?" Artemis exclaimed in disbelief. She didn't know much about Lance Rivers himself, but from what she had heard, he was just a normal billionaire CEO. As far as she knew, he had no goals of world domination.

"One of Mr. Rivers' inventors presented the idea and he thought it would be best to go ahead, invent it, and then patent it so no one else could make it" Greenwoman replied. No one questioned how she knew this, since Rivers Industry had started up in the city of Rovetown, Greenwoman's city.

"I suggest you get going… _now_" Batman's command was final and the team scurried off to get changed into their suits. Greenwoman turned to Batman when he cleared his throat.

"What is the likely hood of this device actually working?" he questioned in the deep growl that was his Batman voice. The hesitant look Greenwoman gave him was answer enough.

* * *

><p>"Have I ever told you how creepy Gotham is?" Kid Flash questioned, looking out the windows of the Bioship as Miss Martian landed it near the warehouse. Robin smirked and Kid Flash continued. "Seriously, dude, why do you work here? Does the sun ever even <em>shine<em> here?"

Robin shrugged, still smirking. "Who needs sunlight?"

Kid Flash opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Tornade. "Kid, shut up. The place is named _Goth_am for crying out loud."

Kid Flash paused thoughtfully. "Isn't it kind of weird how the names of the city often reflect the usual atmosphere?"

The rest of the team paused, thinking about it, before nodding and murmuring their agreements.

The Bioship landed and the team stood up.

_Establishing mental link_, the voice of Miss Martian flowed into all of their minds.

_Are we all clear on what we must do?_ Aqualad questioned, gazing at each of the team members. They all nodded. _Good, then let us go_.

The Bioship opened and the team quickly exited it. Miss Martian put the Bioship into camouflage mode and then flew over to join the others as they reached the side of the warehouse.

_Miss Martian, go into camouflage mode. Just in case._

Miss Martian nodded and quickly followed Aqualad's command. Tornade walked up to the security pad and quickly typed in the code.

_How do you know the code?_ Superboy questioned, raising an eyebrow. Tornade didn't look at him as the door slid open.

_Mr. Rivers gave Greenwoman the code so we could investigate._

The team slipped through the door, their eyes instantly adjusting to the darkness.

_No one knows we're here, so let's try to keep this quick and be outta here before the work day starts_, Robin advised. He opened the holographic computer from his glove and began scanning the warehouse. He hoped that they would find some evidence soon and be able to track down the machine. He had caught the tone of Batman's voice that the others probably didn't even notice. There was a good chance that this machine would be highly dangerous. It couldn't fall into the wrong hands.

_You'd think they would've hired better security for a machine like this_, Artemis thought as she looked over the area where the machine had been kept.

_It was only supposed to be here for a day before being shipped off to a high security facility_, Robin said, having hacked into and looked up the file on their way over here.

Superboy was currently using his infrared to see if there were any clues that perhaps the naked eye couldn't pick up. So far, he had no luck.

Robin knelt down and rubbed his fingers over what appeared to be a line of chalk across the floor. His eyes narrowed behind his mask as the chalk rubbed off on his gloved fingers. It was fresh.

_Hey, Tor, this usual for the Rivers warehouse?_ He questioned, gesturing for her to join him. Tornade walked over and knelt behind him. She also wiped her hand across the chalk and examined it. Her brows furrowed.

_I'm really no expert on the warehouses. What I'm just wondering is; why would they use it?_

Robin opened the computer from his glove and scanned the chalk. It took but a moment. His eyes widened at the conclusion.

_It's not chalk_.

At that exact moment, there was a hissing sound as a thin smoke started to come from the chalk. A curse made its way from Tornade's mouth as both she and Robin ripped off their gloves. Luckily for Robin, the glove with the material on it had not been his computer glove.

"We need to get out!" Robin yelled, not bothering to use the mental link. He looked around and saw that the material had been laid out in a wide circle, surrounding the team. There was no way out without going through the smoke. The smoke went up and reached the ceiling. It snaked along the ceiling. Once it reached the center of the circle and all ends were connected, it started to slowly lower toward the team.

"What kind of gas is that?" Superboy exclaimed. Robin tapped furiously on his computer.

"No idea. The scan is inconclusive. But something tells me it's not good."

"Oh _really_?" Kid Flash retorted as he and the team backed up toward the center of the circle. Aqualad took out his water bearers and shot out water toward the wall of gas. The hole it created lasted for only a brief second before closing itself.

"Don't you have a gas mask?" Artemis questioned Robin.

"Not enough for all of us" Robin replied, frowning. Tornade's eyes narrowed in concentration and no later a breeze filled the room. The wind gathered around her and she could feel its energy vibrating in her mind. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and shooting her hands forward, sending a blast of air at the wall of gas. It created a hole and she kept the wind going to keep it from closing in on itself.

"Go, I've got it" she said. They nodded and one at a time jumped through the hole. Tornade went last. Not a second after she jumped through and stopped the wind, the hole closed in on itself. The team collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"Contact the League and have this building immediately quarantined" Aqualad commanded, looking to Robin. The younger boy nodded and brought up his glove computer. They quickly exited the building and entered the Bioship.

"What now?" Kid Flash questioned as he took his seat.

"We follow that lead we just got" Robin replied, smirking. The team turned to him, questioning looks on their faces.

"What lead?" Artemis questioned, hand on her hip.

"The gas," Robin said. He sat up, having previously been sitting back in his chair nonchalantly. "The scan may have been inconclusive as to what _exactly_ the gas was, but it did state that it was _very_ similar to a certain gas I'm familiar with."

They all raised an eyebrow.

"And that would be…?" Kid Flash prompted. Robin smirked some more.

"Fear gas. And I just so happen to know who produces it."

**A/N: Again, shorter than I would like, but oh well. :/ Ok, I'm gonna say right now that I don't know that much about Scarecrow. I'm gonna look him up and everything, but it would be nice if someone could tell me the basics of his personality (besides the fact that he's insane, I kind of already know that ;P). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Review plz! :D**

**P.S. I came up with Greenwoman's codename name forever ago. No hatey on the name. xD**


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